Deck 104
by Amulet Misty
Summary: [AU] Tokyo 2104. Noise - creatures that tear through their dimension into ours. Deck is a secret organisation with the responsibility of destroying the invaders. With special abilities and advanced technology, they keep the peace- but trouble is stirring as new challenges arise. "All enemies shall be immediately...dealt with." (Neku, Joshua, Beat, Shiki. Supporting Characters)
1. Shuffle - Welcome to Deck

**Deck 104**

**Chapter 01 – Shuffle - Welcome to Deck**

The warehouse was quiet. Too quiet. The overhanging lights flickered on irregularly, each time causing the dark space around to be visible. At that moment, one could see the tall stacks of crates, probably with nothing in them, and not much else. Even with the lights, one would think that this place was abandoned.

Only it wasn't.

Behind one of the stacks of crates, crouched a young boy, breath kept quiet and senses on high alert. He clenched and then unclenched his fists, hands clammy under his black fingerless gloves. He let out a slow, deep breath as he reached up to tighten the red bandanna under his brown bangs.

There had been no sound for so long, no clue to where his target could be lying in wait –

_Croak!_

Feet starting to move in a rush, the boy rounded the corner, and sure enough, his target was there. Its yellow eyes contracted and it pushed off on its blue hind legs, surely to leap onto him.

"Not so fast, bro. _Pyrokinesis!_"

The boy's arms stretched out in front of him and flames suddenly erupted from the ground, circling the frog. It croaked helplessly as the flames closed in and with a final pathetic sound, it fizzled into static.

"Two down, two to go!"

At the sound of his voice, another green frog-like creature descended on him from above one of the crates. Seeing this attack coming, he spun around, his orange vest swishing as he did. "Gotcha!" The frog let out a loud, furious croak as it headed towards him but it was too late. He jumped back and flames emerged from the spot he had just been standing in – the frog met its end there.

He had been doing well so far; the two frogs he had just beaten were the ones that had escaped after his previous attacks and had hidden to ambush him to gain an upper hand, though they obviously didn't succeed. "Yes! Total ownage!"

The boy only had one more target to deal with and then – "Huh? Bubbles?"

Bubbles had surrounded him and he had not noticed, having been so caught up in his victory. They looked harmless enough.

"_Ack!"_

The bubbles weren't at all harmless once they made contact with the boy, making him cry out in pain. Stunned by the suddenness, the boy was unable to do anything when a group of menacing looking black tadpoles came out of nowhere and latched themselves onto him.

"Agh! Can't move…!"

That was the last thing the boy managed to say before his eyes widened, seeing an ice blue frog jumped onto him, kicking him and sending him crashing into the crates.

_Beep! _"Simulation Terminated. Solo Simulation – Level 2 – Warehouse."

The image of the warehouse dissolved, including the crates, causing the boy to fall back as the crates, too, disappeared.

"Mission Objective: Eliminate all four targets without any damage. Objective was not met – Simulation failed."

"You're kidding me! That's so unreal!

_Yeah, as if I didn't see that coming. _Behind a glass viewing screen way above the simulation room, the overseer of the simulation sighed, running his hands through his orange spikes. He had not really expected the middle-schooler to succeed but he would have preferred it if the failure had not been due to such a careless mistake.

He turned to his left, the multiple screens showing the simulation room. While it had been running, the screens showed every angle of the warehouse but as of now, all it showed were the tiled white walls, ceiling and floor, as well as the boy who was just getting to his feet. The boy called for the exit; the door made itself accessible and the boy walked out of the room, staggering slightly.

Opening the door, the observer said, "System off," causing all the screens to shut down as well as the lights in the simulation room to go off. Going down the stairs, he met with the boy, who was tying his shoelaces.

"Shooter," he said looking down, not amused. "Were you paying any attention to what I told you before the simulation started?"

"Uh…yeah! Totally!" Shooter jumped onto his feet, though his shoelace was still untied. "You said…to watch out for the Bigbanfrog!" He seemed pleased to have remembered that part.

"Yeah, but I also said that you needed to keep a look out for its Sprogs. Which you clearly didn't."

"Guess I forgot. No worries, bro. I'll get it next time!"

_Ugh…_ "That's not the point. The point is that even if you managed to take out the Dixiefrogs, you let the strongest one catch you off guard. What would you have done if we had been outside the base?"

"I…would have called…for a team-mate to help me?"

_I think I feel a head-ache coming along. _"Whatever." He started walking down the corridor, with Shooter hurriedly following his steps. "Just think about what you did wrong. I don't have time to babysit you every time you want to do a simulation. You can ask someone else to oversee your training for you."

They entered the elevator, the doors opening and shutting with a loud clang.

"I'm game for that. After all you must be really busy with other duties, right? With you being part of the Court and all."

"If you know that, don't waste my time."

The door opened up at ground floor and the taller boy stepped out, leaving Shooter in the lift. "Hey? Aren't you going to go up? The other Spades said that they want to have a pizza party. I'm sure everyone would be pumped if we had our King up here!"

"I don't do parties." He didn't do crowds in general.

"Seriously? Man, you got to come next time, okay? You have to –" Shooter was cut off as the elevator door shut on him.

He passed the entrance, stopping just as he exited. Looking at it, the Spades' Base was really hidden well. It looked just like any three story house. Nothing worthy of suspicion or inspection. Although if any outsiders did go into the base, they would be in shock at how mismatched the interior and exterior of the house looked.

Evening had just begun to fall, the sun having disappeared out of sight and the sky turning into a deeper blue by the minute – he would probably reach his house by seven. His house wasn't very far from the base, in fact. Sometimes it disturbed him how similar his house looked to the Spades' base, but he ignored it for the most part.

Arriving in front of said house, he patted his pockets and realised that he had somehow left his keys somewhere. Probably in the simulation room. _I don't want to go back now…Oh, Mum's probably home. _

Next to a sign that said 'Sakuraba' was the intercom. Just as he had rung the doorbell, he froze.

There was a quickening in his pulse that was now automatic and that he had started to expect. It was a sign that there was something scratching at the surface of this dimension.

He shut his eyes. "_Scan_." The 'something' had the shape of a frog, much like the ones Shooter had fought in the simulation. It was across the road and it was nearly all the way through.

Blinking back to sight in this dimension, the frog appeared. An Orchefrog – judging by its red legs. It was considerably more powerful than the simulation frogs and it would have been to hard for Shooter to handle.

It noticed him.

That was unlucky.

"Hello? Neku, is that you by the door?" said his mum through the intercom. "Oh, I see you. I'll be downstairs in a minute!"

It was unlucky for the frog because it started attacking Neku – that was a huge mistake.

"_Thunderbolt._"

The creature was eliminated in an instant.

No other ones showed up. If only that were the last of them. Even if it was all quiet now, there were many more where it came from. Its kind were not limited to creatures that looked like frogs. They came in many different forms and they were all hostile. Noise – that's what they were called.

Creeping up from tears in the dimension, they attacked all humans they laid their eyes on. Neku didn't know why, but he knew that they irritated the hell out of him and he wanted to get rid of every single one of them.

That's why he joined Deck – the unofficial organization that hunted the Noise.

The door opened and the face of his smiling mother greeted him. "You're back early from your part-time job. How was it? Anything new happen?" Yeah, she thought he was working at some convenience store in his free time.

"Fine. Nothing much. I had to train a newbie."

"I see…" His mother watched him as he took off his shoes. Before he went up to his room she called out to him again. "If they've got you training new employees, then maybe they'll give you more privileges. I suppose you can't get promoted since it's only part-time."

"Well, it's a weird system," he said, turning his back on her as he climbed upstairs, "but you could say I'm pretty high up already, I guess."

**Neku Sakuraba – King of Spades**

* * *

With her circular glasses and her short brown hair, Shiki would say that her appearances were nothing compared to Eri's, what with her hair being a unique bubbly shade of pink that was always accompanied with a personality that was just as appealing.

That was only if anyone asked for her opinion; Shiki knew she was plain and really, she had gotten over it a long time ago. She remembered that Eri had once said that a person's value had to do with skills, rather than appearances.

Shiki had almost laughed, because Eri was all about appearances.

She didn't though, because Eri had looked dead serious at the time. According to her, appearances made up for half of the battle, but if you had no skill to match up with that, what good were you?

Inspirational; those words had been inspirational.

That was why she had worked harder than anyone when it came to Deck.

In her opinion, the Clubs of Deck had the trickiest abilities to command.

The Diamonds must have the easiest control…their abilities mostly involved enhancements of their physical assets. Strength, speed, flexibility and so on. These were things people already had – it couldn't be that much of a challenge.

One would think that the Spades would have it hard, seeing as they drew power from the elements around them. Shiki didn't quite get how that really worked, but according to the Spades that she had talked to, they didn't really have to think much about it. If someone wanted fire to surround the Noise, _poof _it was there. Granted, the intensity and power of their abilities depended on the talent of the Spade. For example, defeating any type of Noise in one attack would be nearly impossible, normally. The Spade that did that would have to be crazily strong.

The Hearts…alright, perhaps the Hearts had it just as hard as the Clubs. Shiki didn't understand their powers much either. They seemed to have abilities that had an effect on the Noise's minds, even though Shiki always thought of the Noise as being mindless things. She would be creeped out if she had to try and go into the minds of one of those things…On the plus side, the Hearts had loads of cool weapons that weren't too difficult to control.

The Clubs? Their power was very limited. They had the ability to 'possess' certain objects with their aura. They had to have a compatibility or affinity with the objects, though, or it wouldn't work. The objects could range from anything – from cars to books, from discs to dolls. These everyday objects could hurt the Noise if a Club had their aura cast on it.

As for herself? She was only able to use one and that was her stuffed cat, Mr. Mew. She had been using it for as long as she had been in Deck – which was a very long time.

"Hey, Eri. I'm here to apologise again. You must be mad that Mr. Mew's arm almost got torn off."

_Yes, she must be _really _mad._

"I…I know you probably don't want to hear my excuses. Still, it was because that Garage Wolf somehow managed to get a hit on Mr. Mew. My control over him is kinda off nowadays."

Eri did not show any change of expression.

"But I'll be working hard as always. Nothing will improve if I don't try."

There was no reply.

"Well…I guess I'll be going now."

There was never going to be a reply.

Shiki bowed her head at Eri, her smile forever captured in a picture, a smile that would never again grace the world of the living.

She headed out of her living quarters and walked around, feeling the need to stretch her legs. That's when she heard shouting from within one of the living rooms. She hurriedly opened the door and found two of the Clubs in a full blown argument.

"Tsubasa! For the last time, _where are my sunglasses_?" Ayu demanded.

"Chill, girl! I really have no clue where they freakin' are," he said, glaring at the girl.

"Guys! Break it up! You don't need to fight over this," said Shiki, intervening. It was never good when there was an argument in Clubs. "Ayu, how about we look for your sunglasses together?"

It always served as a reminder that tensions had been running high.

"Fine, but I'm still mad at Tsubasa. He almost ran me over with a motorbike while we were out on Noise patrol. I _nearly _had that stupid jellyfish but I had to dive out of the way."

"We got rid of the Noise just fine, I don't see what the problem is." He started playing with the pendant around his neck, as if to say he was done with this subject.

Shiki walked over and put a hand on the blond before she could speak again. "I'll talk to Tsubasa myself later, okay? You've just came back from patrol so you must be tired. Go get some sleep."

"You say you'll 'talk' to him but in the end he's just going to get away with this, isn't he?" Ayu accused, crossing her arms.

"He…" It was true that Shiki would have a hard time dealing with Tsubasa. "I'll try my best so that this whole thing is resolved."

"If Eri was still here this whole thing would already _be _resolved."

That felt like a slap to the face. One that left her trembling.

"Ayu," said Tsubasa, unsually quiet. "I'll say sorry for today. We're cool right?"

The other girl seemed to realise her mistake, covering her mouth. "Yes," she said hastily. "We're cool. See Shiki?"

"…"

"Shiki, I'm sorry…I didn't mean…when I said…"

_Smile, Shiki. Eri would. _

"It's fine, don't worry about it!" she said, waving it off. "What you said is true. I'm still getting used to the leader thing and all. I still have to work harder!"

Without another word, she left the room, the smile still stuck on her face even with no one there to see it.

**Shiki – Queen of Clubs**

* * *

"Take that!"

The Mosh Grizzly roared as Beat landed powerful upper-cut right at its jaw. Though it was pushed backwards, it raised a razor sharp claw in order to attack him. Beat put pressure on his back foot, causing the hover board he was riding to move backwards, taking him far away from the Grizzly's reach.

His team-mate Miki, put a hand on her hip, looking at the Noise with distaste. "If I knew we were going to fight one I would have left my jacket back at home."

Kyo, pulled nervously at the chain around his neck. "I _knew _we were going to run into one. Out of all the patrols it had to be this one where a Noise showed up."

"Yo, don't sound down, man," said Beat, not understanding the others' attitudes. "We finally get to bust some moves on the Noise. They don't show up every day, you know."

Miki adjusted the fur collar on her jacket. "I'm pretty sure we don't want Noise to show up every day. It would cause an uproar, since the civilians are bound to panic if they find out about Noise."

"Nah, that wouldn't happen. The losers at Hearts can do their memory erasing thing," he said, keeping his eyes on the Noise. Damn was it slow. The three of them were able to casually talk while it was approaching them.

"Yeah, but I can't stand the thought of walking around with a piece of my memory locked up somewhere deep and dark," said Miki pursing her lips.

Kyo shivered. "Man, I'd hate that."

Beat thought about it for a moment. "Guess I wouldn't like that either."

The Noise let out another cry, its eyes trained on all three of them.

"It's making a racket but it's not like it can get to us any faster," said Miki, "but look at those freakin' claws. This Noise came to the wrong sector, long range isn't our style."

"The hell are you talking about!? It came to the wrong sector 'cause it's going to get its ass kicked! C'mon! Let's deal with this chump!"

He launched forward, raising his hover board so that it slammed against the Grizzly's body. Again, it tried to slash at Beat, but this time Kyo and Miki were at his backs, grabbing hold of the Grizzly. With the combination of all their enhanced strength, the Grizzly had nowhere to go.

Beat grinned, getting ready for the finisher. _"Shockwave!" _With that last horizontal blow, the Noise was destroyed.

He let his hoverboard lower him to the ground before stepping off and picking it up. "Hell yeah! Gimme five!"

Miki and Kyo exchanged a look.

"Guys?" He waved his free hand above his head. "Don't leave me hanging."

_Clap!_

"That's more like it!"

"Only with Beat…" said Miki, giving Beat a tired smile.

"Yeah," Kyo agreed, putting his cap more firmly on his head. "Our Suit wouldn't be the same without him."

"Heh guys, you don't have to flutter me so much," said Beat sheepishly, pulling at his skull beanie.

"You mean flatter." Miki stretched out her arms. "Well, that's it for today, right? I'll be heading home now." She gave Beat and Kyo a quick wave. "See you tomorrow!"

She walked away from them hurriedly, as if there was something important she had to do.

"Wonder what it's like living outside the base," said Kyo wistfully.

"Must be pretty different, yo," said Beat as the two started walking back to said base. "But ain't ya old enough to move out?"

"True that," agreed Kyo, "but I think it'd feel weird to live away from some the others. We've been together for so long, you know?"

"Yeah, you're right." Beat thought back to his childhood. There were always a lot of other children around him, including kids older than him, like Kyo. While Kyo had stayed at the orphanage the whole time before being allowed into Deck, Beat had stayed outside with a guardian for at least a year. He had really loved his days in the orphanage, though. "It's more fun when ya have everyone around."

"We're practically family now," Kyo said with a nod. "Even if we're not tied by blood or by names, we're family."

"Heh," Beat elbowed Kyo good-naturedly. "Deep man, deep."

"Don't I know it!" said Kyo with a laugh. "Although… dontcha ever get kinda jealous of the Iwata brothers? It's like being blood brothers gives them a connection."

"What, 'cause they're all four-eyes?"

Kyo elbowed Beat back. "No! I mean, there's that too, but c'mon man."

"Yo, I don't really think about those things much," said Beat, looking up and putting his two hands behind his head. "I dunno. I never had any siblings."

"Okay, okay, but if you wanted a sibling, would you want a brother or a sister?"

He thought about it for a moment. "A little sister would be cool."

**Beat – Jack of Diamonds**

* * *

The Ace of Hearts.

He was blond, with a distinct way with words. He was an irritation to some and yet he was loved by many, too.

Striding through the base, his head was held high, like it always was. There was something different about him at that moment, though.

"He doesn't look very happy," whispered a member to another as he passed by them.

_Hmm, really?_ Well, they were certainly right about that. As if his stiff expression wasn't a plain giveaway.

The reason for his discomfort was the younger boy that he had forced to go along with him.

"Wonder what he did this time."

_What, indeed?_

Opening the door, the Ace sat down, gesturing for his junior to do the same.

Violet eyes stared up to meet blue ones.

"Joshua. Do you understand why you're here?" said Eiji Oji, the beloved leader of the Hearts.

"My guess is that you're bored and don't have anything better to do, so you decided to give me a lecture," Joshua replied with a smirk. _He _certainly had better things he could do. Such as resuming the activity that Eiji had interrupted in.

"I'm being serious here," he said in a harsh whisper.

"My, that glare doesn't suit you very well," said Joshua, feigning a gasp. "I think that your fans would be scandalised to see an Ace that isn't glittering."

Eiji's glare held but Joshua remained unfazed. The Ace may be able to push others around, but not him – Joshua was above all that.

"Did you enjoy yourself?"

"Which part? The part where I made Princess K think that there was a Corehog in her room or when she went beserk and nearly destroyed her room while trying to get rid of it?" The smirk grew wider. "The answer to both would be 'yes', for your information."

Letting a sigh out, Eiji sank back into his leather chair, closing his eyes. _Hmph, maybe I should sneak out while he's busy doing that. _Not long after, he opened them again, making direct eye contact with Joshua again. "You're acting like a child, Joshua. This isn't like you. In fact, you haven't been yourself for a while now. What's this all about?"

Joshua laughed. "Unlike myself? _Really? _I didn't notice at all."

"You're bitter about something. Am I right?"

"Oooh, caught me red-handed. How _do _you do it?" Joshua said. "Yes, very bitter. As bitter as vinegar, you could say."

"…Joshua, your position will remain unchanged." Eiji said louder, now, "and as long as I am around – it always will."

"_Why!?_" He snapped, standing up and slamming his hands on the table. "I am in no way the weakest member of Hearts. I'm way more talented than a lot of the members with higher numbers than my own, even more than some Court members of _other _Suits. So _why!?_"

"…When I discovered your foolish game and Princess K realised it had been an illusion, she could have returned the favour to you. Easily. But she didn't. She instantly forgave you."

"What does that have to do with anyth–"

"If you don't learn to forgive like she did, you won't be able to move forward." Eiji's eyes burned into his own – as a reminder to Joshua that _he _was the Ace. "Everyone in our Suit is a master of manipulation because of our powers. It doesn't mean that we can use them to hurt _each other_. That isn't what Deck is about. You're dismissed."

Joshua trudged out the room and closed the door with a bang. He walked all the way to his room before stopping just before turning his doorknob.

_He did something. _Eiji had done something to him, because Joshua never, _never _lost his temper in front of anyone. Although he didn't like it, he knew that Eiji was Ace for a reason. Still, he could not remember a time where he had been the one under Eiji's spell.

_That hypocrite. _The Ace warned him not to use his abilities on his team-mates yet he had done so himself.

_But Eiji never uses it on _us. _He cares too much._

So. Joshua had driven Eiji to finally use his abilities on a junior. He wondered how Eiji felt about that.

_He'll most likely think of something to do to redeem himself. _

Eiji wasn't adored by his members for nothing.

_Heehee. Just like expected. _Eiji had appeared at the end of the corridor, drawing nearer to Joshua.

"Joshua."

"Yes?"

"You still need to reflect about what you did. However, I get that you might want a bit of a change of scene for that," said Eiji.

"I'm listening."

"I've got an urgent call from CAT. At least one Court member from each Suit is wanted at the department. Perhaps you would like to accompany me? You haven't been to Shibuya for a while now – you might run into one of your friends."

Eiji really was something. Starting off by making it seem that he is angry when in actual fact he wanted to make it up to Joshua, since he knew that Joshua was right about a lot of things. Even that was a potential ruse because Joshua had got the feeling that Eiji had seen completely through him from that last sentence.

"Why not?" he said, smoothly. He would not give Eiji the reaction he wanted. He refused to. "I _have_ missed the sight of the 104 building."

"Good. We leave at eight in the morning tomorrow."

The Ace left right away. _Good_, because Joshua was not about to thank him.

"Secrets upon secrets – and I thought justice didn't tell lies."

Joshua did not know what secret he was referring to, but there were bound to be many in this place. Perhaps, if had been someone different, he would have quit Deck long ago.

_As if I could do that now – _he giggled to himself. _That's just how it is. _

He entered his room, still laughing, before he ('bitterly' as Eiji called it) whispered to himself:

"Welcome to Deck."

**Joshua – Deuce of Hearts**

* * *

**A/N: Tadaa! Here's a new TWEWY AU for everyone to (hopefully) enjoy. If you've read my other TWEWY works – welcome back, friends! – and if this is the first fic you've read coming from me – glad to have you onboard!**

**As you all can probably tell, the protagonists are Neku and his Partners. I plan to share out the spotlight between the four as much as I can. The mostly neglected shopkeepers and other smaller characters will also have their roles in this, as you could see from the ones that appeared here. Ahem - if you thought that they were OCs, you are excused but you should take this chance to look up their sprites. The character designs for the shopkeepers are all super cool and it would be such a waste not to use them in a fic. **

**I have wonderful things planned for this fic…wonderful things indeed. **

**(****Please**** read the extra bits after the A/Ns! They'll be fun for you and will be important for extra detail of Deck and its workings).**

* * *

**You would think I couldn't have a 'thank you corner' in the first chapter – but I can! Watch me do it!**

**Thank you to –drumrolls- cutekitty5595 for the most amazing fanfic cover that you have ever seen for a fanfiction. I encourage you all the enlarge it and stare at it for a good few minutes. No, seriously guys. Go. Now.**

…**Done? Great! **

**We'll be seeing more of her works in the future of Deck 104, so cheers!**

* * *

**Thanks for reading! **

**Dina (1/04/2014) [Yes, I did post this today for a reason. Yes, I will use the other way of writing dates just for this reason.]**

* * *

**- **Thread 104 –

*****Welcome to Thread 104! Yes, the brand new, official thread for Deck is up and running. As the Suits' bases and CAT's department are at different locations, we would like to keep the Deck community close together, so please feel free to share all your thoughts and ideas relevant to Deck here! ** (Tatsuya-Omura)

- Eh? What happened to the old thread? (Mina-is-Happy)

- It got taken down. (Ai-Love)

- Huh? Why's that? :O (Mina-is-Happy)

- Someone [I'm suspecting Masuoka] had been posting 'inappropriate' pictures. (Ai-Love)

- Honey! I'm shocked you think of me that way. I'm completely innocent. Please believe me! (Masuo-ka)

- Sure! (Mina-is-Happy)

- _Sure_. (Ai-Love)

**\\Hey, everyone! I'll be releasing my new single online today. Hope you all can listen to it! ;D (The-Prince)**

- OMG! I can't waiiiittt! ^-^ (Mina-is-Happy)

- Oji can sing? (xxAyu)

- No~ But he's hot when he tries. (Masuo-ka)

- Masuoka -.- (Ai-Love)

- I did my best! Everyone will give it an 'F' – for fabulous! (The-Prince)

- Fabulous! (Mina-is-Happy)

- Or 'F' for failure. (Ai-Love)

**\\Urgent notice! A cat from the Club's base seems to have gone missing. He's a very important part of our family, so if you seem him anywhere please bring him back to us! He is black with yellow eyes and has a green collar around his neck. Please help us find Nimew! (MickyMouse)**

**- **Please! We really miss him. Come back Nimew! (xxAyu)

*****Please be reminded that the meeting at the headquarters will begin promptly at 10:30. We require at least one Court member from each Suit to attend. Thank you. (Tatsuya-Omura)**

- I wonder what the meeting is about. (MickyMouse)

- Me too. Tell us all the details when you come back from it, Makoto! ;) (Ai-Love)

- I'm not going! I can't deal with meetings! (MickyMouse)

- You're letting Shiki go by herself?! O.O (Mina-is-Happy)

- What's wrong with that? (MickyMouse)

- Are you at the base? Stay where you are. We need to have a talk. (xxAyu)


	2. Cut - New and Undeserving

**Deck 104**

**Chapter 02 – Cut! – New and Undeserving**

'Identity confirmed. Member: Joshua. Suit: Hearts. Rank: Deuce. All members of the party are authorised. Entry granted.'

_Hm. Even the system here reminds me of my position._ Joshua did not show his displeasure, though, as he, Eiji Ouji and HT Masuoka stood by the glass doors of the 104 building, waiting for them to open.

Joshua glanced up at the towering skyscraper. He read, once, that Shibuya used to be a shopping district. It was, of course, an obvious target for the bombs once World War III had broken out. Once the war was over, it seemed that the area around Shibuya had been rebuilt, though it turned more towards a centre of business, if anything.

The 104 building was a miracle tower that had survived the war. It had to be renovated along with the rest of Japan's infrastructure, of course. As far as Joshua's knowledge went, the building was actually left empty for the longest of times, with no one knowing what to do with such a great building while Japan rebuilt its cities and repaired its economy. Deck bought it out, eventually.

With the creation of Deck, according to the books he read in the Deck records, 104 used to popularly be called 'Ten-Four' in casual terms, though all the current Deck members would say 'One-O-Four' if they talked about this place now.

It wasn't only this building that had undergone a change in name. Like in many other wars, territory had been captured and then reclaimed. By the end, Tokyo's borders as a city had changed, though not too drastically. However within it, the area was separated into four regions. There was the Ao region in the North, where the Spades base was. The Diamonds in the East stayed in the Kiiro region. In the South was the Midori Region, where the Clubs resided. Joshua's home was in the Momoiro region in the East. The changes of official borders now meant that Shibuya would be considered leaning more towards the 'East' rather than central Tokyo.

This happened long before Joshua was born but he knew all this because he was interested in history and the like. He found the stories about the pasts of places fascinating. Oh, the pasts of people were absolutely interesting to look into too, of course – even _more _interesting, he would say. Everyone had their secrets and it was just delightful to have the power to know them. Holding the power of people's pasts meant having the upper hand and Joshua was just the type of person that was not afraid to use his, if necessary.

"Josh-chan? Your face is kinda scary right now," said Masuoka, already having taken a step inside the building. "You're not thinking of doing anything bad right now, are you?"

Joshua gave him a smug smile that didn't give anything away. "Who knows?" He strolled past Masuoka. "I can't do much while we're here, can I, Hotaru?"

"Well, knowing you…" Masuoka shook his head and gave him cheerful smile. "Actually, you're right. We _are _at CAT after all." He ruffled the top of Joshua's head before he could dodge it. "See you after the meeting!"

**HT 'Hotaru' Masuoka – Queen of Hearts **

"Unlike Masuoka," said Eiji, in a tone that told Joshua not to forget about him, "I think you're capable of getting yourself into trouble if it pleased you, even here. Please refrain from doing so, especially after yesterday. It would be a disgrace to our Suit if I hear anything negative about you."

**Eiji 'Prince' Ouji – Ace of Hearts**

"Yes, yes, I'll be a good boy," said Joshua, bored. "Run along to that all important meeting of yours."

Eiji's did not get angry at the voice Joshua used on him. He simply put a hand on his shoulder for a moment, eyes _pitying_. Then he walked down the corridor to what Joshua presumed was one of the meeting rooms.

Joshua debated whether he should just sit on one of the chairs and wait to see who else was going to the meeting, but there was nothing to do here. There was not much in the reception, seeing as how Deck had so many more floors for everything. Still, Joshua thought that they should get a receptionist for the reception, or at least some kind of directory. Not everyone in Deck was bright enough to know how to use their CARD.

Out of his pocket, he retrieved a playing card. It might have looked like a regular 'two of hearts' but it was actually a 'Computer Assistant Radio Device'. A 'CARD' for short.

"Activate." Equipped with a voice recognition feature, the CARD started to hover just above his hand. It rotated quickly until it stopped again, now displaying a screen, opening up to the last page that he had been on. Ah yes, it was the one about different types of spiders. Joshua had needed a reference to seeing which one looked the most menacing when he surprised Princess K yesterday. He knew that he would scare her, but he didn't think that she would feel unwell this morning because of it.

Hmm. Perhaps he had been a teensy bit unfair to her. She really had done nothing wrong…she had just been unfortunate enough to be the one for Joshua to target this week. Really, he always picked from all the Hearts at random, so it was not like he actually had anything against any of them. Except for Eiji.

"Bring up the CAT directory." He would put that thought aside for now. The directory that popped up showed a labelled 3D image of the building, the red dots indicating where people were. Going up from ground floor, there were five other floors above it. Picking the floor that he was looking for, he stepped into the lift and went up to level four.

As the doors opened the sight of a darkened hallway met him. Why did no one ever bother to turn on the lights along this corridor? If he wasn't the only one on the corridor, he could easily bump into someone -

_Oh? Hold on. _

Smirking, he stepped forward until he reached out to grab hold of an arm that was trying to find the walls. He pulled the person forward and whispered, _"Boo."_

Joshua had expected either a scream with footsteps running away from him or an outburst of some kind of power aiming to attack him but the person simply stood still. The person snatched away his arm and said, "_Thunderbolt_." Instead of hitting Joshua, the strike was sent directly up to the light, causing it to spark momentarily before it turned on, illuminating the dark area.

"Well, well. What do we have here? A new face?" Joshua certainly had not met this boy before. He had spiked orange hair with harsh blue eyes, complete with a set of headphones covering his ears. _Although…he does remind me of.…_

"…" The boy did not reply. Joshua guessed that he was around the same age as him. Definitely a high school student.

"Hmm. Shy, are we?" Joshua raised a hand to stroke his chin, a habit that he had whenever he was curious. "I suppose I'll have to be the one doing the introductions. I'm Joshua – one of the strongest members of Hearts, as I'm sure you'll know. And you're from Spades from the brilliant display you had there."

"…"

_He doesn't seem to be much of a speaker, but I can read his type easily anyway. _"Not going to introduce yourself? I do understand. Most people are quite awestruck after they first meet me, too."

The boy showed the tiniest hint of annoyance, but that was all Joshua needed to see that he was right in his approach to talking to him. As expected, the boy soon opened his mouth to speak. "Neku Sakuraba. My name." _Ahah…_

"So you _can _talk." Heehee…he could see Neku's irritation rise by the second. "Have they started doing the orientation at CAT, then? I suppose you're a Two then, maybe a Three. Those ranks have been empty in Spades for quite some time now."

"I'm the King of Spades," he said bluntly.

…King _of Spades. _"Is that so…" King? He had heard that Spades had a new King but he thought that someone had been promoted – either Shigemi or Sota. He was sure that he would have had some distaste towards whoever it had been. This was especially because the Hearts' position for King had been vacant for as long as Joshua could remember and even then Eiji would _still _not promote him. That vacancy served like some kind of taunt towards Joshua.

Yet someone entirely new had taken the same rank.

"Yeah." The boy shrugged. "They made me King when I joined about five months ago. The rest of the Spades keep yapping on about it but I don't see what the big deal is."

Someone new and _undeserving _had taken that rank.

"Hm…"

How had he not heard about this? Unless the rest of the Hearts – no - the rest of Deck, had been keeping it from him…

"Hey." Joshua looked up, since it was Neku who had decided to speak this time. "You said you're one of the strongest of Hearts, right? So where's the meeting we're supposed to be going to? There weren't any directions so I just went into the lift and hit this level."

"I'm not going to the meeting. I'm too busy for that," Joshua said, his smirk returning as naturally as could be. "I'm surprised you haven't learnt how to use your CARD yet, King. It's an easy toy to work out, really."

"Whatever," Neku said coldly. "Just tell me where the meeting is."

"You're no fun," said the blond with an exaggerated sigh. "Have it your way. The meeting is on the ground floor. Turn left and head straight down to the end room."

Without thanking Joshua, Neku entered the lift, his I-don't-give-a-damn posture still about him, but he glared at Joshua, even if he had not meant to.

Giggling, Joshua sent him a mock wave.

"Have fun, Neku."

With his momentary source of entertainment gone, Joshua turned his attention back down to the corridor he was standing in.

While his CARD was fun, he needed some new toys to play with.

xxxxx

* * *

The Queen of Clubs did not mean to be the first one to arrive at the meeting but as she stepped into the empty room she was met with the conclusion that she was indeed the first one. There was a large screen right next to the door, which had not been turned on yet, meaning that none of the people at CAT had entered here either. She didn't want to try opening the other door that was behind the opposite side of the table, just in case she wasn't authorised to be there.

Shiki stuck her head around the door to check the room number again. _I didn't get the wrong room but I'm still early…_

She thought about sitting down but as she looked down at the layout, she realised she didn't know exactly _where _she would be sitting. The table was a long rectangular one so only three sides would be used. She remembered Eri complaining about how Beat always made funny faces in order to make her laugh, so she assumed that Eri always sat in the same seat.

It was the first time she had actually been to a meeting at CAT since being appointed Queen, so she had no idea where she was supposed to sit.

Would they make her sit in Eri's old seat? The thought of it made her pale.

Oh, but Eri had been King of Clubs, so maybe she would get to sit somewhere else after all. Wait, but what if they didn't sit according to Suits? It would have made sense if there were four sides to sit on but there were only two. Oh! There were also the CAT personnel to consider. Did they all just stand the whole way through the meeting or did they squeeze in between the Court members?

Maybe she should have brought Makoto along. She told him it was fine if he wanted to sit this meeting out. Her own reasoning was that she wanted to try and tackle this leadership thing on her own, but it didn't seem like a really good plan now.

"You're blocking the way." She almost let out a shriek. It must have shown on her face, because the speaker walked past her, rolling his eyes. "You don't have to be so jumpy."

"Neku!" _Right! _"It's your first meeting too isn't it? Phew, I was really nervous, I didn't know where to sit and no one's here yet."

He didn't seem to have the same nervousness, though, because he simply sat on the chair right at the edge of the table, not looking like he cared whether they may have had set seating or not. Come to think of it, he didn't seem like the type of person to be bothered much about anything at all. _That's right…he doesn't like talking to people if he can help it._

Shiki wasn't really acquainted with Neku Sakuraba that well. She had met him six months ago on _that _day. It had not been a very agreeable way to have met, but what was done was done. She had talked to him a little bit and he didn't seem like a bad person. He didn't seem lonely or anything, just that he preferred to be on his own. At least, that was the impression she received from him; she wasn't at all good at reading people.

_In any case, wouldn't he dislike it if I sat down next to him? _If it was the two of them sitting down then they would be less likely to get in trouble if there really were selected seating but she didn't want to if he was going to glare at her the whole time.

"Are you planning on standing there the whole meeting?" _Huh? Oh! Is that his way of inviting me to sit down? _

She quickly pulled out a chair and took the seat next to him, trying to make as little noise as possible. _That's better. I'm finally sitting down!_

...

_How long is it until the meeting? _Perhaps she was impatient, but unlike the orange-haired boy, she was not a fan of silence. It either meant things were serious or awkward and she liked neither of these things. The atmosphere would fit the latter, she thought. Well, Neku would have not been feeling awkward – she thought that he was listening to music on his mp3 anyway – but wouldn't it be weird if the others walked in to dead quiet?

She didn't have to worry about that for long, because the next thing she heard was a loud excited yell. "Shiki!"

Her head whipped around and she spluttered an immediate, "Y-yes!" Her anxiety vanished when she saw who it was. "Beat!"

_Thank God! _If it was Beat, there was no need to worry about the atmosphere, since he didn't care about that kind of thing. Or maybe Beat didn't care because he could never read it, but she wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt.

"Yo! How's it hangin'?" He jumped into the seat next to hers, the seat creaking at the sudden added weight.

"I've been…okay." _Exactly! I'm okay. Think positive! _"I've just been trying to get used to being a Court member. I didn't know there was so much extra work." _…wait… _"Actually, you never seem to be that busy, compared to Makoto. Is it different for Diamonds?"

"Work? What work?" Beat gave her a clueless look.

"Never mind, don't worry about it." _If it's Beat, maybe he just skips the work…without knowing he's skipping. _Someone else must takeover for the work that he didn't do. _Must be Ai, then. I feel kinda bad for her. _

His never-ceasing optimism must make up for it, she decided. Beat was well admired in the Diamonds, even though he could be reckless at times. She admired him too, although she was sure some of her fellow Club members thought he was a little _too _reckless at times.

"Anyways, who's that, yo?" He pointed at Neku, disregarding whether it was rude or not to point at someone.

They paused for a while. Beat seemed to be waiting for Neku to introduce himself, but he seemed immersed in his music.

"That's the new King of Spades – Neku Sakuraba," she answered, on his behalf, thinking that trying to disturb Neku at the moment would not be a good idea. "He joined five months ago."

"King? Already?" Now Beat looked really interested. He had that look that every child had when they saw a sleeping lion at the zoo – the urge to try and wake it up was immense.

Shiki moved forward slightly, blocking his view to Neku, to make sure Beat didn't do anything like actually poke him. "Yep, he joined during the last Shuffle and was appointed King right away."

"That so?" His eyes widened. "That's when they made you Queen, ain't it?"

She understood his surprise, having two Court member additions during one Shuffle of ranks was not a regular occurrence. "Yeah, I think that they needed to, because…well…you know." _Eri._

"Gotcha," said Beat, not seeming to notice that Shiki had suddenly looked away. "Hey, everyone's here!"

"Seriously Beat, you took off from the coffee room too fast. You really should have learnt how to drink coffee by now," said a girl with brown hair that framed her face, reaching just a bit past her shoulders.

**Ai – Queen of Diamonds**

"Don't be too hard on him, it's an acquired taste," said an older man with glasses and a patterned bandanna on top of his head. "As long as he eats a lot and grows up well, then that's enough. Especially if he keeps eating my ramen, I mean."

**Ken Doi – King of Diamonds**

"Your ramen is always fabulous. No wonder he's so tall now," said Eiji as he followed the two in. _Eiji! Looking as dazzling as usual! _

Masuoka walked in soon after, though he stopped and started smiling once he laid his eyes on Neku. _Uh-oh. Good thing Neku's not paying attention. _

The door closed right after.

After all her internal fuss, there didn't seem to be much concern about the actual seating arrangements. Masuoka sat directly across from Neku, with Ai sitting beside him. Ken Doi took a place next to Beat, crossing his arms and leaning back into the chair. Eiji sat down at the head of the table; Shiki guessed that since he was the only one holding the rank Ace, he did have a special seat. Or maybe he just chose to sit there.

Not so much longer after they had sat down, the door behind Masuoka opened again and three people, all wearing lab coats, walked in.

"Bwaaaah! There's two of them." By 'them' Beat, the one who had shouted the exclamation, was referring to Neku and one of the people who had just walked in.

The person chuckled good-naturedly. "Almost, Beat." The man walked up to Neku and tapped him on his head. "This rude one with the headphones is my son."

**Kyohei Sakuraba – CAT- Technology Division**

"Oh, I geddit. My bad." Beat sat back down.

"I did say 'Sakuraba', remember?" said Shiki in a whisper.

"Right! You did! I forgot." _Oh Beat. _At least he picked up on their resemblance. Neku's father did look almost exactly like him, except he had a more friendly presence than Neku.

Kyohei pushed the headphones off Neku's head so that they slid down to hang around his neck. "What did I tell you about listening to music when you're supposed to be listening to other people?"

Shiki would have been mortified if someone had told her off in public like that, but Neku look completely unfazed, reaching to turn off his mp3 without saying anything.

"Anyway," said Kyohei, looking satisfied with his son's actions, "it's been several months since we have all been gathered together here. As you all know, we only all meet up at CAT if we have a serious issue arise."

_Yes. _Another reason why Shiki had been extra nervous.

"So, I'd like to ask everyone to pay close attention and refrain from speaking until we're done with explaining the issue. With that, I'll hand you over to Professor Hanekoma for the summary of the events."

_I have a bad feeling about this. _

"Heya, folks," said the professor, a man with the odd quirk of wearing sunglasses even indoors. "Not to worry everyone right off the bat, but we seem to be having an increase in the frequency of Noise appearances."

**Sanae Hanekoma – CAT - Head of Armoury Division**

"For a while, we believed that their attacks have been random but now it seems that they may be more intelligent than we had initially thought."

He pressed a button on the remote he had been holding, pointing it to the screen. It lit up and a video clip started playing.

At first, it seemed like it hadn't worked. The screen was black and there was nothing to be seen.

Then suddenly, there was raspy voice, laced with static.

The moment Shiki heard it, she felt as if every fibre of her body was buzzing and her heart pounded painfully in what could only be fear.

"Hel-lo…_Deck_. We are wai-ting for you."

* * *

**A/N: Tadaa! That was fun to write. Creating an AU-ish world is so fun – there are so many things to think about! I wonder who could have started my fake-in-the-past WWIII, for example. Let's just hope in WWIII in real life never happens. X3 **

**This chapter was actually going to be longer but on second thought, it would have been too long if I continued on, plus it seemed like a good place to cut off the chapter anyway.**

**Ahem…but look! Neku's dad! I'm going to have a lot **_**more **_**fun when I'm writing him. Oh and Masuoka, he'll be amusing to write for too. And of course, Joshua, Neku, Shiki and Beat are going to be fun writing as always. In any case, we introduced a few more of the Court Members, so look forward to seeing the rest of the numbered members!**

* * *

**Thank you to: **cutekitty5597, Music of the Shadows, Warlord13, HolyKnightmare, Omega Zekrom, Chronic Guardian, ElementLegend, The Professor of time, Clogallie, ImagineBreaker13, I'll Break Your Heart **for putting this story on favourites and/or for following!**

**A round of applause for Chapter 01's lovely reviewers: **cutekitty5597, Warlord13, Omega Zekrom, B.A.G-GOMEZ, Chronic Guardian, ElementLegend, A Paper Flower, I'll Break Your Heart

silverangel01**: Thank you for all the praise! I'm really glad to hear that you like reading my fanfics :D Makes me happy, ya know~ **

mel**: I certainly hope this is an awesome idea. Ooh, 'Deckverse', huh? I think I'll use that term starting now on! Thank you!**

* * *

**Thanks for reading everyone! I'll update soon enough **

**Dina (25/1/2014 – Happy Birthday to Me! xD)**

* * *

- Thread 104 -

**\\ HOLY SUGAR HONEY ICED TEA. THAT VOICE SCARED THE CRAP OUT OF ME. (Masuo-ka)**

-What voice? What am I missing? (MickyMouse)

-What's going on at the meeting? Is it important!? (Mina-is-Happy)

-What are you even doing on your phone during the meeting? (xxAyu)

-This is Professor Sakuraba. Masuoka's phone is temporarily in my possession. (Masuo-ka)

-Ouch. Caught by the prof. (xxAyu)

**\\ Own up. Who broke the coffee machine in CAT's ground floor coffee-room? I'm looking at you, Court Members. (Cherryraba)**

-If you're talking about broken things I would've said Beat, but he ran as soon as he saw the coffee. I think he must be afraid of it for some reason. It wasn't me, by the way. (Ai-Love)

-I know for a fact it was not me. (The-Prince)

-I did not break the coffee machine. Also, I can't take you seriously when you have that as your username, Kyohei. (DrRamen)

-Mr. Doi, you should look at your own username before commenting on others…(Ai-Love)

-Noo! I love the coffee at CAT! (MickyMouse)

-My username is legendary. But seriously, who did it?(Cherryraba)

-I'll tell you if you give me your son's number~ (Masuo-ka)

-He did it. (Ai-Love)

-He did it. (MickyMouse)

-He did it. (DrRamen )

-I think I need to have several words with you, Masuoka. (Cherryraba)

**\\ We have located Nimew! One of the neighbours found him! Thank you to everyone who searched for Nimew. He's home now. (MickyMouse)**

-Home! (Nimew)

-What the actual flying *&%^!? Is that who I think it is? (kYO)

-WHAT THE!? IS THAT THE CAT!? IS THIS LEGIT?! (Mina-is-Happy)

-Don't worry, it can't talk. It's just typing. (SilverWing)

-Tsubasa. It can type. Why do Clubs have such a genius cat? (Miki-chan)

-Cause we're Clubs. 'Nuff said. (SilverWing)

**\\ Guys? Princess K can't really get up. Can someone go out to buy Princess K more medicine? (K-Hime)**

-We'll get some on the way back. (The-Prince)

-Thank you! :'D (K-Hime)

**\\ Ugh, just got out of being lectured by Prof. Sakuraba. I just wanted a number! I wonder if anyone is still here… (Masuo-ka)**

-This is a forum, not your online diary. (Miki-chan)

-Party pooper! You're really 21892471284018error12931error (Masuo-ka)

-Masuoka?! (Miki-chan)

-Oh shoot, they saw me! Currently: RUNNING. (Masuo-ka)

***** There was a major request in the last forum for a music player to be embedded there, though that wish was never granted. Finally, the long-awaited music player has arrived at Thread 104 – 'Hit the Deck'. Feel free to add songs to the playlist, though keep in mind that they will be moderated if deemed too inappropriate, as we have younger members among Deck too. (Tatsuya Omura)**

-I'm sure the Readers will enjoy the music very much, as they will really fit the situation and mood in the current chapter of the life in Deck. (HiKoiRu)

-Lol Hikaru. Readers? We don't need some fancy name for us forum-users. (xxAyu)

-…No. (HiKoiRu)

-'No' what? (xxAyu)

-Wrong. (HiKoiRu)

-Uh…I really don't get you sometimes…never mind…(xxAyu)

**#Hit the Deck – Current Song – Wired Life (Meisa Kuroki)**


	3. Deal - Crossed Paths

**Deck 104**

"For a while, we believed that their attacks have been random but now it seems that they may be more intelligent than we had initially thought."

He pressed a button on the remote he had been holding, pointing it to the screen. It lit up and a video clip started playing.

At first, it seemed like it hadn't worked. The screen was black and there was nothing to be seen.

Then suddenly, there was raspy voice, laced with static.

The moment Shiki heard it, she felt as if every fibre of her body was buzzing and her heart pounded painfully in what could only be fear.

"Hel-lo…_Deck_. We are wai-ting for you."

* * *

**Chapter 03 – Deal – Crossed Paths**

The voice that came out of the speakers was eerie. Even after Professor Hanekoma stopped the clip, no one spoke. It seemed to create a tension in everyone that Neku didn't share. Perhaps it was because he was still relatively new to this – the tremble in his body was not as harsh as it seemed to be for the others. Some of the Court members shivers were visible, while Eiji, though looking unshaken, had a deep frown set on his face.

"Yo," said the guy with the beanie (_Beat, or something_), breaking the silence. "Ain't that…ain't that a _Noise?_"

"Yes," spoke up the third person who had walked in with Neku's dad and Prof. Hanekoma. "We're certain from the frequency picked up from our systems that the voice had, indeed, originated from a Noise. As you know, Noise can make certain kinds of sounds that are all within a specific range of frequencies that are usually impossible to be picked up by the human ear. This voice fell into that range of frequencies." The woman pushed up her glasses, which glinted. "More importantly, we can deduct three things from this."

**Fumiko Nishimura – CAT Division – Head of Technology Division**

"Firstly and most obviously, the Noise are able to communicate," she went on, with a finger pointed up. "For all of the encounters with the Noise so far, we have assumed that they were of a more primitive type of species, as they look and act quite like animals. We have so far thought that they are aggressive towards humans because they have entered unknown territory whilst encountering foreign entities. Of course, even animals would have the ability of basic strategy, but to have the level of communication to a point that they know our language, we should have to rethink our perspectives of them. They were also thought of as insects attracted to a light-source – even if an insect witnesses another being electrocuted, it still draws near to the source of light, and this was thought to be the same as how their pattern in continuing to surface to our dimension. We can now come to the conclusion that they have _chosen_ to attack us."

Chose to attack? That sounded about right to him. Rather than an angry animal, Neku did think that the eyes of the Noise contained some sort of bloodlust that needed to be quenched.

"Secondly, they seem to have a good understanding of Deck. Even civilians are unaware of what our movements are, so the thought that they have enough information to send us a message is worrying. They must have some means of communicating back to their dimension to say that we are successful in eliminating them and to inform others of their kind of our existence. Also, they have found a way to locate one of our street monitors that should undetectable, though from the footage it clearly _was _detected. Professor Omura and his team are currently performing tests on said monitor to see what could have gone wrong.

"Finally," said Prof. Nishimura, her tone getting even more serious, "the message that the Noise sent was a direct challenge to Deck. We have already been fighting the Noise for a long time, yet they only choose to send a message now…We can only say that it must be because they are preparing for something, though what, we can't be sure for now."

With her speech finished, Prof. Nishimura stepped back, allowing Prof. Hanekoma to move forward once more. He looked around the room and Neku did the same.

Everyone was dead silent.

It all seemed to be news that shook them…yet for Neku it didn't leave quite the same impact. Maybe for those who had been in Deck for so long, anything new was terrible – out of the ordinary. But since he was relatively new at this, the Noise being this capable was just an added danger to Deck's job description. Learning about the existence of the Noise had been weird enough that Neku had been desensitised to this kind of news.

"That won't do," said Prof. Hanekoma. "We can't have you returning to your bases looking like that."

As if a switch had been pressed, everyone looked up as Prof. Hanekoma started speaking, Neku included.

"It's true that this is a whole new concept to Noise that we've never encountered before," he continued, "and we do want you to be extra vigilant when facing the Noise, now more than ever before. However, you're here today as Court Members and you're the ones who'll have to brief the rest of your Suits about this. If you're wavering because of this information, as their leaders, they're gonna be nervous too and might go into a panic." He shook his head with a smile. "And we wouldn't want that, would we?"

"He's right," said the Ace of Hearts from the head of the table, the first of the Court Members to speak up. "No matter if they're intelligent or not, Noise are Noise. The most important thing to remember when you're fighting them is…"

He paused, making sure to go around the table, holding eye contact with everyone at least once.

"…to deal with them _fabulously_."

…

The whole table audibly groaned.

"Eiji!"

"Man, it ain't the time for that!"

"I adore you, hon, but that was really inappropriate."

"Whose big idea was it to make him an Ace?"

Though they all said that, Neku observed, the atmosphere in the room relaxed considerably, and there was a lot more chatter going on.

"Those are the main points for today," called out Prof. Hanekoma over all of the sound. "The recording has been sent to your CARDs for you to present to your Suit when you see fit. If you have any individual questions please feel free to ask. See ya all next time."

…_Huh? That's it? _

That couldn't possibly be the whole meeting. They hadn't gone through any strategies on how they were going to combat this 'problem' at all. In fact, the only instruction that they actually got was to be more careful. That could have easily been sent to their CARDs at any time; this meeting hadn't really been necessary.

_So in the end, did I just waste my time here?_

"Don't look so sour," said his dad. "This was important news, and these things are better received when shared with a group."

"I don't see how this benefits me," Neku commented, now trying to avoid the blatant ogling of the guy opposite him.

"Well, it may not help you, but it's still good to be here. Go socialise. It's healthy," said his dad, slapping his back in encouragement. "Look, Masuoka seems to want to talk…hmm, or maybe he just wants his phone back. Caught him texting in the middle of Prof. Nishimura's presentation, can you believe that?" He looked at the next closest person. "There, go talk to Shiki, while I give him his phone back."

He walked around the other side of the room before Neku could get a word in. _Great. _

Neku was _not _a conversation starter. Besides, how was he supposed to with Shiki looking like that? While the rest of the Court Members were rapidly discussing what had just been revealed today, the brown-haired girl was looking down at her hands, though her eyes showed that her mind was somewhere else.

_Wonder what's up with her? _Not that he was going to ask.

Just then, the girl stood up, quite suddenly, and headed out of the door. The others in the room didn't seem to have noticed, all of them busy crowding around Eiji Ouji who was explaining something along the lines of what inspired his new album.

_Wait a sec. _If he slipped out now, he could escape from this crowd without being noticed, and if his dad tried to make a big deal out of it, he could just say that he was with Shiki.

Having mastered the art of exiting a room quietly, Neku was out in a flash and sped-walk down the corridor. _No point in going home yet, _Neku thought. He might as well go back with his dad later once he was done with work, though he was sure that would be another hour or two. Maybe he'd just sit down in the reception and listen to his music. No, his dad was somehow able to tell if he had been on his own for too long. One of those weird dad things, he guessed. Maybe he'd go upstairs again and check out the other floors of Deck. There were bound to be other people around, but that would be okay because Neku assumed that they'd all be too busy working to bother him. _Or they could just be completely out of it, like her._

Shiki was stood just in front of the lift, staring at the buttons as though if she stared hard enough, they would light up for her on their own.

"It's getting annoying how you keep standing in places I need to get to," said Neku loudly, making sure that she would hear him.

She just about leapt into the air at the sound of his voice. Again. He didn't understand how a person could be that jumpy.

"N-neku! What are you doing here?" she asked, readjusting her glasses which had gone lop-sided. "Ah, no, I mean…"

"I'm trying to get to the lift, what else?" he said, stating the obvious.

She just blinked at him. "Where…are you going?"

"…" He had no clue. He hadn't been here before, and the last level he went there was pitch black for some weird reason.

"Nowhere in particular, huh? Yeah me neither, I was just wondering where I should go too…" She snapped her fingers. "I know! You haven't had the grand tour of the 104 building, have you?"

"No." _I don't like where this is going._

"Great! I'll show you around."

_Knew this would happen… _"You don't have to."

"Oh…um…you sure?" her tone dropped. "It wouldn't trouble me at all."

_But it would trouble _me. "I don't need a tour."

Her face started to look more and more downcast. "Oh…I see."

_Geez, how much do you need to give me that tour?_

"I guess I got a little ahead of myself," she said, with a laugh, her attitude taking a 180 degree turn. "I don't think I know this place all that well either. I mean, it was Eri who used to come here a lot, so…"

_Eri? _Oh. Oh, that's why she had been acting so edgy. Eri was that girl who died. Neku knew that she had been Shiki's best friend, so from the way she was acting she must still be very affected by her death.

He didn't think she did it on purpose, but she made him feel a sense of discomfort settle in. He reached up, unconsciously, and touched the area just below his collar.

"That's right!" she said, her voice almost startling _him. _"Your injury…how is it?" She gazed at the spot he was touching intensely, her eyes full of concern. "Is it getting better?"

…_What's with that? Don't look guilty. It's not like this happened because of you._

She started speaking again, "I'm sorry that –"

"It's fine," he said, cutting her apology short. "It's completely healed."

She breathed out a relieved sigh. "That's good." She seemed completely genuine, as well.

Neku watched her expression, carefully, though the only change was that she slowly started to look confused.

…She shouldn't have tried to apologise when she didn't need to. _If anything, I should be the one who…_

"…One place." He said. "You can show me one place."

Her expression brightened up instantly. "Really? That's great! I know! I'll take you to Deck's training level. The facilities there are better than the ones in our bases, so let's go."

She pressed the 'up' button and the doors opened up. Just as they were about to close again, someone ran into the lift too, crashing into it.

"Beat!" Shiki cried, alarmed. "Are you alright?"

Oh, it was just the beanie guy. "I'm good, yo." The guy merely turned around and laughed like nothing happened. "I was jus' going' up do some trainin'."

"We're going there as well," said Shiki with a wide smile.

"Yeah, you're here too, huh?" Beat tilted his head. "Uhh…your name was…uh…gah, your name was weird." He pointed at the headphones around Neku's neck. "I'll jus' call you Phones."

_Seriously…? Just based on that? And what do you mean by 'weird'? _Well, he could have picked something worse like…Orangey.

"It's Neku Sakuraba," reminded Shiki, patiently.

"Right! Got it!" Beat grinned. "You know what, I'll stick with Phones. It sounds cool."

_According to _you. He was hoping that the blond received the hard looks Neku was sending him.

"Phones ain't much of a talker, is he? But it's okay, yo." Beat slapped Neku's back (_why do people keep doing that?_) and ushered him forward when the lift doors opened again.

The two boys rushed out just in time to hear the words:

"Simulation Terminated. Solo Simulation – Level 6 – Scramble Crossing."

The walls were bleach-white and were lined up with several closed doors that Neku assumed to lead into different training rooms. The one right at the end opened up, and the person that Neku had met earlier on walked out. He smirked as they came into sight.

"Mission Objective: Eliminate all Noise without any damage. Objective was met – Simulation Succeeded."

So, the brat hadn't been kidding about being powerful.

Neku's first impression of Joshua was not a good one when they first crossed paths just a while ago. Most people got on his nerves for being noisy, but they weren't purposefully trying to aggravate him like he was sure Joshua had been. What was worse was that it worked, as well. Neku may be a bit disagreeable to people at times, but Joshua seemed like he was a downright ass-ho –

"_Joshu-nii!" _Shiki zipped past the Neku and Beat and threw her arms around Joshua, pulling him into a hug.

Joshua looked surprised for a mere second, before resuming a neutral expression, though he didn't return the gesture. "Hello, Shiki."

_Joshu-nii? _The name didn't suit the guy's high and mighty image at all.

He looked up. "And if it isn't Beat and the newcomer."

"Gah, why'd it have to be you, Priss?" Beat grumbled. Seemed he and Neku had something in common – they both weren't big fans of Joshua.

Shiki detached herself from Joshua. "Don't be like that, Beat." She looked between Joshua and Neku. "Right! Neku, this is my brother, Joshu-nii. "

"We've met." _Unfortunately. _"Didn't think he'd turn out to be your brother, though." They really didn't resemble each other at all.

"We're not blood related," said Joshua, as if he had read Neku's mind. Well he probably did, if he was a Heart. "And Shiki, dear, as Neku said, we have met, but if we hadn't, introducing me as 'Joshu-nii' would not have been really helpful."

"Oh…sorry Joshu-nii – I mean – Joshua." She chuckled. "You're right, I shouldn't be calling you 'Joshu-nii' anymore. We're kinda old for that, huh?"

"Yo," said Beat, "I sure as hell ain't old!"

"Not the point, Beat," said Joshua, with a played out sigh. "Really, sometimes I wonder what lives in the space where your brain is meant to be."

"Bwaaa?! Well, I ain't like you! Even if I don't got a brain at least Imma be in the Court, yo," he retorted.

_He's not a Court Member?! _But Joshua had cleared a level six simulation. _How…?_

"Court Members are overrated. They're really not that great," said Joshua in a dismissive fashion, even while the rest of them there were all Court Members. "I don't know how half of them even get such high rankings when they're so incapable."

Shiki frowned at Joshua's statement. "Don't say that! The Court Members are wonderful people!"

"Hmm?" He looked at Shiki. "Trying to flatter yourself?"

"N-no, I didn't mean me. I meant…I meant…"

"Of course you didn't mean you. You just got in by default. Did you mean Beat? Because he can't possibly be a good choice either. Or did you mean that guy?" He nodded his head towards Neku. "A newcomer? They're really getting desperate now."

_Wow. _It really didn't take long for Joshua to start pissing Neku off again.

Far from being a person she was able to hug, it looked like Shiki was being intimidated by Joshua. She took a step back, saying, "Don't say it like that."

"So, please enlighten me how you _would _have me say it," said Joshua.

She looked down. "I don't know…You haven't contacted me at all for six months - I don't know _what_ to expect from you anymore. I tried calling you and you never answered so I was really worried. I thought that maybe…"

"Whatever you thought, it was probably wrong," said Joshua. "Despite popular belief, I'm not weak." He smirked. "Not the way you are."

Shiki kept her eyes on the floor, not saying a word.

Neku was sure that this wasn't how siblings, blood-related or not, were meant to speak to each other.

"That's harsh, Priss," said Beat heatedly. "You're jus' jealous that Shiki became a Queen an' Neku became a King while you're stuck as a Two. You couldn't let it go when I became Jack or when the King of Clubs turned out to be Er-"

He couldn't finish his sentence. It was if he had lost the ability to speak.

Neku glanced at Joshua, who was holding a hand up and pointing it towards Beat. "Hm? Something got your tongue?" His other hand reached up to twirl his hair. "A Two sounds so unrefined. Please call me the Deuce, will you? Or is that word too hard for you to remember?"

Beat glared at Joshua furiously, and his mouth opened and closed several times, surely spouting up swear words that none of them could hear.

"It's okay, Beat. He's right about me being weak," Shiki muttered.

Beat shook his head furiously but when he saw the resigned expression on Shiki's face, he stopped 'shouting'. He tried to say something to Shiki but he still couldn't speak.

Shiki placed a hand on Joshua's forearm. "Please, stop it…" She tried to push down his arm. "I know I'm not worthy to be Queen…but for Eri's sake I have to try."

"For Eri's sake isn't a good enough reason."

She looked hurt. "How could you say that? We're talking about Eri, here."

"Eri's dead. Doing something for her is pointless."

Shiki withdrew her hands, looking like she didn't recognize the person in front of her.

_Alright, I've had it. _

"_Thunderbolt._" With a click of his fingers, electricity sparked in between the space of Joshua and Beat, causing all three of the other people to jump back.

Joshua retracted his arm, which allowed Beat to let out a yelp.

That wasn't the only shout of surprise that they heard.

They turned to see Masuoka standing in front of the open lift, looking like a deer caught in the headlights. "Er…I didn't hear or see anything. Just forget about me. Haha…Bye!" He scuttled back into the lift, looking scared but was, oddly enough, typing something into his CARD at sonic speed.

"Hold on, Hotaru," said Joshua, making Masuoka stop abruptly. "I'll come with you. This place is starting to nauseate me."

"Sure thing, Josh-chan," said Masuoka awkwardly as Joshua entered the lift without giving any of the others a second glance.

"Um…bye…everyone." Masuoka gave them a rigid wave to the three left standing in the corridor as the lift doors closed.

There was a slight pause before the Jack spoke up, again. "Shiki? You aight?"

Her eyes looked blank once again, as if she was seeing something the others couldn't. Neku was starting to dislike that look.

"I…" she began, though she stopped, as if finding it difficult to gather words. "I…don't understand him. I thought I did but maybe I was just getting full of myself."

Before Beat could say anything along the lines of insulting Joshua, which Neku felt might be deserved but might not be a very smart move, Neku cut in, "He's probably just not having a good day." _Well…_ "Or maybe he's just PMSing."

…

Shiki and Beat both gaped at him.

"Was that…were you joking?" Shiki questioned.

"…Yes."

Shiki and Beat looked at each other at both burst out laughing. Though Neku supposed his joke had meant to bring about that kind of effect, he felt that the laughter wasn't entirely for actual comedic factor.

He tugged at the top spike of his hair. _This is what I get for trying…ugh._

"Sorry," Shiki said. "It's just, that was the last thing I expected to come from you. But maybe Joshu-nii _is _just in a bad mood. That's probably it!" She seemed so surprised that her anxiety had been knocked right out of the building, for now at least. "Tell you what, I'll go set up your training room for you, Neku. Be right back!"

She ran off, still half-giggling.

"Man, you're not half bad, Phones," said Beat as Shiki left. "An' I was thinkin' you was like some kinda statue but I'll give you points for tryin' to lighten things up."

"Well, don't expect a repeat of that," said Neku, already regretting the 'joke' had even happened. "It's not like I really meant what I said."

"Huh?"

"That kid, Joshua – I don't think that attitude was a one-off thing." Neku thought back to Joshua's conceited demeanour.

"Well, Priss' always kinda been a prick like that but I dunno. I guess he jus' went too far today, yo." Beat scratched the back of his head.

"You know, you kind of started it, with that Court Member thing," Neku pointed out.

"Well, it was true," said Beat, not looking like he wanted to admit that he might have been in the wrong too. "But anyway, thanks for lookin' out for Shiki. Ain't nothin' like friends to make you feel better."

"We're not friends."

He looked taken aback. "You ain't friends?"

"No."

"_Huh?_ But you were stickin' up for her and everythin' and tryin' to cheer her up…"

"You don't have to be friends with someone to do that. And that guy was just irritating me with all the crap he was saying to her."

Through the glass, they watched as Shiki put her full concentration into prepping the simulator to fit his level, her fingers flying over the buttons on the control panel.

"Besides…"

Neku lifted his hand, placing it again at that spot below his neck.

"…I owe her."

* * *

**A/N: Tadaa! I had to cut down this chapter **_**again**_**. It even ended up being all in Neku's third perspective narrative. This fic might be longer than I first expected it to be if it goes on at this rate xD Oh well, that's fine with me. As you can see, I'm mixing up the traditional character dynamics a little bit…hehe…Joshu-nii.**

**Hmm what to say…oh, well I think I need to replay some of TWEWY to check out the shopkeepers a bit more to make sure I characterize them okay. Not that they have many lines, so it'd be hard to tell, but I can at least try to make them different from each other. That'll be fun.**

**x**

**A big thank you to my new story followers/people who put this on favourite: **Xerzo LotCN, Pinkdesi101, Ice Suicune, ToaLewa'sSidekick **and **nanaxkitty

**Thank you times 104 to all the people who reviewed - **B.A.G-GOMEZ, ElementLegend, cutekitty5597, I'll Break Your Heart, Warlord13, The Professor of time, Xerzo LotCN, Pinkdesi101, A Paper Flower, Chronic Guardian

Rose**: Aww thank you so much for that awesomeful review! :D It makes me really happy to hear that you're liking this so much! As for the characters, I'll try to keep their main essence of personality while making it fit into the situation. Thanks again!**

Guest:** Thank you! :'D And woot. Glad you like the forum. I do love writing it!**

* * *

**Anyway, I've got exams next week so wish me luck xD (Won't affect this fic but…wish me luck anyway! I'm going to need it. Haha.)**

**Until next time!**

**Dina (21/2/14)**

* * *

- Thread 104-

**\\ Awkward lift rides with Josh-chan are awkward. (Masuo-ka.)**

I thought you were running? (Mina-is-Happy)

I was but he got into the lift with me and he's does _not _look like he's in a good mood. (Masuo-ka)

Alright, who's the fool who got Joshua ticked off? (JUN)

Yes, you know he'll take it out on us when he gets back. (BlackMay)

I don't think he'd be happy if I say it. (Masuo-ka)

Whether you say it or not, we'll find out eventually. (BlackMay)

Hey! No Heart mind reading allowed! (Masuo-ka)

Masuoka is right. It is a rule, remember. (The-Prince)

True, but we'll still be able to bully it out of Masuoka. (JUN)

Oh no…(Masuo-ka)

**\\ Has Neku left CAT already? (ShigemiSun)**

I don't think so. I went up to the training room to do some sparring and Neku was in a training room with Shiki. Beat was trying to beat that score, again. (Ai-Love)

Phew, Shiki's made friends with that guy, then? That makes me feel better about letting her go alone. (MickyMouse)

I dunno. They aren't really…talking. She's just kind of watching him train. (Ai-Love)

Just watching? =O (ShigemiSun)

Yeah. Hm, why so much interest Shigemi? (Ai-Love)

No reason! Just checking to see if our leader was doing okay, that's all! I swear! (ShigemiSun)

Hmm… (Ai-Love)

Hmm… the King must be happy that you were worried 'bout him ;D (Blue)

No! He wouldn't find out since he doesn't use his CARD much. And I don't think he'd be happy. (Does he _do _happy?) (ShigemiSun)

Been paying a lot of attention to him, then! -w- (Blue)

That's not it! (ShigemiSun)

If you say so ;D (Blue)

**\\ If anyone is worried about where Nimew is, I've just put him in Shiki's room so that she won't be alone tonight when she arrives back at base. (MickyMouse)**

Won't Tsubasa and Nao be there? (kYO)

Like, no. I'm not staying in base tonight. (NaoNao)

Same, I'm stayin' out too. (SilverWing)

Shiki's staying by herself at base? Has that happened before? (Mina-is-Happy)

No, but Shiki said that it was okay. Besides, she was fine at CAT, right? So she'll be okay! (MickyMouse)

The meeting was one thing but this…(Mina-is-Happy)

I know, I talked to Makoto but he told us all to leave it be. It'll probably be okay. It's just one night and it can't be more intimidating than a meeting. (xxAyu)

No, but you guys don't geddit. (kYO)

I'm sure they do, Kyo. (Mina-is-Happy)

Yeah, but it's not the same. (kYO)

That's true…I know! I'll call Shiki later, before she goes to sleep (Mina-is-Happy)

Good idea! Me too. (kYO)

That's like, totally sweet of you! I'll call too! (NaoNao)

You're making me start to feel bad…I'll give her a call too. (SilverWing)

**** There will be important information to be delivered to all Suits by their Court Members soon. Please listen to them carefully and take the actions that they advise. (TatsuyaOmura)**

**- **I'm having a bad feeling about this. (Mina-is-Happy)

- Damn, Mina's guts are usually right so this must be bad info. (kYO)

- Well, you'll see when we get back… (Ai-Love)

**#Hit the Deck – Current Song – Asterisk (Orange Range)**


End file.
